


Don't Dream It, Be It

by hellcat52



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, F/M, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Rocky Horror Picture Show - Freeform, byler, elmax - Freeform, kinda post season 3 but everyone's alive because im in denial
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-01-03 06:29:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21174947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellcat52/pseuds/hellcat52
Summary: Its November 1986, and Nancy and Jonathan take Will to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show in the city.Or, Will Byers falls in love with RHPS, and also himself.update: chapter 7 is on its way, i’ve just been pretty busy with school :)





	1. November 1986

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based off of my many experiences seeing my local RHPS shadowcast for the past few years, and also my mom's stories of going in the 80's. Beta'd by the best human alive witchymessofwildflowers on tumblr.

Will stood in front of the small theater and shivered in the cold. Posters for decade-old movies were peeling off of the brick wall and the lights in the marquee were half burnt out. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his fall jacket, fidgeting nervously. 

“Come on, Will, let’s go inside. It’s getting cold.” Jonathan said, one hand around a steaming styrofoam coffee cup, the other firmly in Nancy Wheeler’s grasp. Nancy smiled softly, with a fond look in her eyes for the Byers siblings. She turned to Will and put her arm through his, interlocking them. 

“Let’s go boys. The movie starts soon, and I need popcorn.” Nancy steered them through the old double doors, and handed their ticket stubs to the usher, before walking their trio over to the snack stand. While they walked, Will noticed the unusual atmosphere in the theater. It had red carpet like the theater in Hawkins, and it smelled like popcorn and cigarettes, but something felt different. There were framed movie posters on the wall, and a cork board with flyers posted for the local college’s activist group, along with upcoming art shows. As they waited for their popcorn, Will noticed a woman walk by him, wearing nothing but a black corset, small shorts, and ripped fishnets. Her heels made her tower over the already short Will, and her makeup was dark and intense, with bright red lipstick. She must have felt his eyes on her because she looked back and noticed him staring. She smirked, giving him a small wave. Will nervously waved back and wondered how Jonathan had managed to drag him into this night out. _ This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have come here._

Nancy paid and grabbed the popcorn, then the three headed into the main theater. Right away, Will felt overwhelmed, dodging loud people wearing all sorts of weird costumes as they made their way to their seats. Jonathan and Nancy sat on either side of him, smiling at each other as they settled in. Will saw more women in costumes, crazy makeup and lingerie, but then he noticed something: some of them _weren’t _women. He looked closer and saw men too, in high heels, lipstick, as well as eyeliner, all smiling, laughing and posing for pictures before the show started. Will was shocked and frozen. He had never seen people like this, men and women so free to wear and be what they want to be.

At the front of the theatre, there was a stage and on it stood a man. The man was wearing a button down shirt and bowtie, but as Will’s eyes moved down he saw the man wore fishnets and sparkly red stiletto heels on his lower half. He was holding a microphone, and speaking to the audience. As he began to speak, the people of the theatre quieted down and turned their eyes to him. “Welcome everyone, to this month’s Rocky Horror Shadowcast! The show is about to begin, so get out your flashlights and water guns, and I want to hear you be loud! This isn’t the opera people!” Nancy took out a paper bag from her purse, filled with strange items that didn’t belong in a theatre, like toilet paper, a deck of cards, newspaper, and rice. She handed a mini water gun to Will, who grew more and more confused the more time he spent here.  
The packed audience cheered and whistled as the man walked off the stage, the theater lights dimming until the only thing Will could see was the bright light of the movie screen, fading into pair of red lips. The first chords of the opening song washed over him, and when the lyrics started, he could hear Nancy quietly humming along.

_“Michael Rennie was ill the day the earth stood still  
But he told us where we stand”_

Somewhere behind him someone yelled “On our feet!” in response to the lyrics. After every line was a new heckle, people yelling out increasingly more explicit things. Will had never seen anything like it. He always was the quietest one of his friends, and movie theaters were sacred to them. Talking during a movie was a cardinal sin. Beside him, Jonathan swayed to the music, laughing whenever he heard a particularly inappropriate line. Will sat back and tried to relax, focusing on the screen. The opening song was coming to an end, and the crowd cheered. During the first few scenes, Will found himself laughing along with the crowd, caught off guard by comments that everyone else seemed to have memorized. He ate popcorn, sprayed his water gun when Jonathan told him to, and stood up to learn the dance to the Time Warp. He sat back down in his chair, catching his breath and feeling overwhelming joy, as Brad and Janet backed away, towards the rickety, old elevator on screen.

Suddenly, he noticed the beat getting louder in the background. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone approaching the stage wrapped in a long black cape, covering their whole body. He watched intently as the figure walked onto the stage, mirroring Tim Curry in the movie. Will held his breath as Frank N Furter flirted with both Brad and Janet, noticing the exaggerated makeup and extreme high heels he was wearing. When the chorus began, and both Franks whipped off their capes, Will gasped. The costume was a tight black corset covered in glitter, a pearl necklace, and ripped fishnet tights. He strode around the stage with confidence that Will had never seen before. Nancy wolf whistled, and Jonathan cheered loudly, both dancing in their seats to the music. As the song ended, Will was finally able to breathe, his heart racing for a reason he couldn’t quite place. The performance carried on, through the creation of Rocky, the murder of Eddie, and to the scene where Brad and Frank sleep together. 

Janet had just been seduced, and now Will watched Frank try to pull the same trick on Brad. It made his stomach feel weird, watching a man try to flirt with another, but in his head he reasoned that Frank must be the villain, because Will had never seen a queer man be the protagonist. But then Brad reciprocated. And Will gripped his armrests, feeling a surge of nervousness he’d never felt before. He had never seen a movie where two guys kissed, and here he was, in a movie theater surrounded by people cheering for them. In Hawkins, people steered clear of anything or anyone that they thought was queer. Kids like Troy made fun of kids like Will for doing_ sissy_ things. Lonnie called Will a _fag_ for being sensitive and shy. But here, only a few miles away, Will was in a place where men could love men, women could love women, and he felt like he could be whoever he wanted to be. Here, their love wasn’t a secret, but something to be proud of.

Will refocused on the movie just in time for the floor show. He watched as the characters danced and sang on the stage, smiling at the absurdity of it, but still understanding the underlying message: be who you are, not who you are expected to be. When Frank N Furter came on, singing “Don’t dream it, be it”, Will thought back to all the times he wished he could be normal like other boys, like his friends, like_ everyone else_. Every time he thought about boys, or cried, or played video games instead of sports. He thought about how much he tried to fit in, and the words from the song finally sank in. 

He didn’t have to try and be _normal_. He didn’t have to wish or dream to be someone else, to like the things everyone else did. He could just be himself, truly and completely, and that was okay. It was like Jonathan said, back when Will’s biggest problem was being known as the “zombie boy”: being normal is boring. Who would ever want to be normal? His entire life, everyone told him that he wasn’t supposed to be this way, he wasn’t allowed to feel the way he felt. But now, Nancy and Jonathan were showing him the exact opposite. When Rocky and Frank were dying, Will found himself crying. Not only because he was sad for the characters, but because he found a place where he was free. He didn’t have to be scared here. He didn’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing or pretending to be someone he wasn’t. 

As they were driving home in the Byers’ beat up old car, Nancy turned around in the passenger's seat to face Will. “So did you have fun? Some of our college friends invited us to the Halloween show last month, and Jonathan and I thought you would love it.” She smiled at him while The Clash played quietly on the car stereo. 

“It was really cool! Thanks for bringing me you guys.” Will tried to keep the excitement out of his voice, but he failed miserably. At the next red light, Jonathan turned around and grabbed Will’s hand. “I’m glad that you had fun, buddy. Nancy and I are always here to talk and hang out with you, you know.” He said it casually, trying to tell Will that he knew about his feelings without actually saying it. 

The car pulled into the Wheeler’s driveway. The boys waved goodbye to Nancy and as they started the drive back to their own house, Will wondered if Nancy and Jonathan knew he liked boys. Maybe the whole night was a way for them to let him know that they didn’t care if he did. In the years to come, Will remembered that night as the first time in a while that he felt like he could be himself and still end up happy.


	2. December 1986

The bell chimed as Will opened the door to Family Video, wiping the snow off of his boots before walking up to the counter. The store was decorated for the holidays, with christmas lights strung around the displays and a plastic tree near the entrance. It was late, and the store was empty, except for the two familiar employees behind the counter. Steve Harrington was placing price stickers on new movie cases, while Robin Buckley sat on the countertop next to him, watching him work. 

“Come on Robin! This would be so much easier if you actually helped me like you get paid to do!” Steve continued sorting and stacking the new arrivals, while Robin just laughed at him.

“Yeah it would, but I’m having way more fun sitting here and watching you get frustrated.” Steve groaned at her. She laughed loudly before turning around, noticing the small teenager who had been quietly watching the whole exchange. Robin kicked her legs over the counter to face Will, grinning at him. “Hey dingus, one of your children is here!”

Steve quickly dropped the _Back To The Future VHS_ that he was holding, whipping his head around the store. “Which one! Is something wrong? Oh, Byers, it’s you!” Steve leaned forward on the counter, looking happy to see Will. “What’s up, little Byers? You need my help with something?” 

Will looked really nervous, eyes looking anywhere but at the older boy’s. “Everything’s fine. I’m actually just here for a movie.” Steve’s face fell, and he looked disappointed that Will wasn’t just here to talk to him. Robin jumped off of the counter, and put her hand around Will’s shoulders. “Sorry Harrington, I guess you don’t get to be a mama bear tonight.” She flipped Steve off, and then looked at Will. “But luckily for you, dude, I’m a movie expert. So, what are you looking for?” 

Will fidgeted and took a deep breath. “Um, I’m not sure if you guys have it, but I’m looking for a movie that came out about ten years ago. It’s called _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_. Have you heard of it?” Robin practically jumped with excitement. “Do I _know_ it? It’s one of the best movies of all time! We have it over in the musicals section, let me show you.” She started to lead Will through the aisles of movies, weaving past the dramas and romances. 

“So how did you hear about the movie? It’s not exactly the kind of thing most boys your age like to watch.” Robin got to the display she was looking for and started flipping through the movies stacked on it. Will waited beside her, anxiously looking around, anywhere but at her. 

“Well, um, last month Jonathan and Nancy took me to see it in the city. But there were these actors performing in front of the screen, which was cool, but I couldn’t really focus on the actual movie. I thought I should rent it.” As Will finished his explanation, Robin raised her hand triumphantly, holding the movie. “Found it! And yeah, Rocky Horror has kinda become more about the experience than about the actual movie, although it definitely deserves a watch.” When they got back to the checkout, Steve had given up on the price tags, instead just leaning on the counter waiting for them. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Robin tossed him the VHS as she slid back behind the counter. “Yup. Hey, Steve, I should take you to see this movie sometime. You would be so freaking confused, it would be hilarious.” Steve rung up the movie, and Will handed him the cash to pay for it. “What’s it about?”  
Will shoved the movie into his backpack, waiting for a break in the conversation to thank Robin and say goodbye to Steve. Robin jumped back onto the counter and lay down, crossing her legs. “It’s hard to explain. There’s aliens, cannibalism, murder, sex, _gay_ sex, and Susan Sarandon is just _so_ hot in it.” Right as she said it, Robin clapped her hand over her mouth and sat up, her face full of fear that Will knew too well. “I mean-”

Will stepped closer to the counter and smiled shyly, locking eyes with her for the first time since he had mentioned the movie. “No, I totally get it. Tim Curry is pretty cute in it too.” Robin sighed in relief and gave him a look of understanding. Will never imagined that he could meet someone else like him in Hawkins. 

“Steve, my dear co-worker, can you give us a minute please?” Robin shooed her shocked and confused best friend to the back storage room, then patted the spot next to her on the counter for Will to sit down. “That sounded like the first time you’ve ever said anything like it out loud. Not that you have to tell me or anything, but...” Robin trailed off, looking at Will nervously.

“I guess I haven’t. I’ve never told anyone.” Will felt brave enough to look back at her, and was met with a warm smile.

“Steve was the first person I told. It was back in the mall, last summer, when I thought we were gonna die. He didn’t get it at first, it was pretty funny to be honest. But he’s been there for me since then, and you can trust him with this stuff. He can be super dumb, but Steve really cares.” Robin put her hand on Will’s shoulder, trying to convey a thousand different words into one look. _Don’t be scared. You’re not alone. It’s okay. _

Tears started to roll down Will’s face. “Thank you.” She wrapped him in the tightest hug she could. He didn’t want her to let go. He felt so much better knowing he wasn’t the only one dealing with this.

They heard a crash and Steve ran back out of the storage room. “I heard crying, what’s going on?” Robin and Will broke apart, and she shot Steve a death glare. He started to back away, but Will shook his head. “It’s fine Steve, you can stay.” Will turned to look him in the eye. “I have something to tell you.” He was shaking, and the words barely made it out, but he powered through. Robin grabbed his hand tight. “Are you sure kid?” He nodded. 

Steve was looking intently at Will, smiling encouragingly. “Steve, I think I like boys.” Steve’s smile turned into a grin, and he grabbed Will up into a huge bear hug, lifting him off the carpeted floor. “I’m so proud of you Will! Boys, huh? Boys are cool!” 

Robin rolled her eyes at her friend. “You are _such_ an idiot. This is worse than _‘but Tammy’s a girl?’_” She imitated Steve’s confused face and laughed. He put Will down and pointed at Robin, on the offensive. “Hey, I’m being supportive over here, so why don’t you shut your face? And Will, as much as I want to celebrate this very important moment in your life, I also don’t want Joyce to freak out when you aren’t home before curfew, so let me drive you home.” 

Will was half-laughing, half-crying at that point, so he wiped his tears and grabbed his bag off of the ground. The three of them headed to the car, Robin and Steve switching between bickering and congratulating Will on the way. Will couldn’t do anything but smile so hard his cheeks hurt.

The whole drive home, Robin listed off every movie she could think of with gay subtext, and Steve tried to make awkward conversation about George Michael and David Bowie. When they finally got to the Byers house, Robin and Steve both insisted on a group hug. They waved as the car pulled out of the driveway, while Will stood on the front stoop. He turned the key, and he opened the door to his mom sitting on the couch with Hopper’s arm around her, watching TV. His mom smiled at him, her eyes tired and drooping. “Hey kiddo. How was your day?”

Will dropped his bag by the door and tried to smother his grin as he walked towards his room. “It was pretty good.”


	3. January 1987

It was nearing the end of winter break, and the Hopper-Byers’ household was back to the usual frantic routine. The cold weather meant that at any given time, at least five pairs of boots were strewn haphazardly near the front door, usually leaking melted snow onto the carpet. Countless jackets and blankets were thrown over the back of the couch. In the few months since Joyce and the Chief had moved their families in together, the small house had become even more cramped with six teenagers regularly making it their hangout spot.

El had taken Jonathan’s old bedroom after he moved out for college, and the walls were covered in polaroids taken from the camera she got the previous christmas. The space that was once taken by band posters and framed vinyls was now occupied with Will’s drawings, and pictures of the party looking increasingly more annoyed. But even though Max and Mike would always roll their eyes when the flash went off, El would never stop taking pictures of them. The rest of the party didn’t understand that she didn’t have anything until they showed up in her life. They had years of birthday parties, sleepovers, summer vacations, everything normal kids did, and El was still playing catch up. The pictures were there to remind her that it was all real, that they were all real. 

The sounds of Curt Smith singing drifted from the boombox situated on the dresser, while El lay on her bed, flipping through one of Joyce’s old magazines. A knock on the door sent her practically jumping out of bed and racing to open it, grinning excitedly. On the other side to greet her was Max, her bright red hair tied in a messy bun, an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. She threw her bag on the ground and El wrapped her in a tight hug. “I’ve been waiting for you all day. It’s so boring here, I just want school to start already.” 

Max laughed and sat down on the bed. “I’ve never heard someone say they missed school before. But hey, that’s what I’m here for, so let's do something.” El rummaged through the other girl’s sleepover bag, until she found a collection of nail polish bottles, one of every colour she could imagine. “Wanna do our nails? I need some more practice, because every time I’ve tried to do mine I smudge it.” 

Max nodded, and started to look for a colour. “We could watch a movie while we do it. I’m thinking _The Breakfast Club_.” She pulled out a light orange bottle and looked at it through squinted eyes.

El groaned. “Again? We’ve watched that movie so many times. I can say every single line as it happens.” She picked up a bright blue polish that reminded her of the neon sign at the Palace Arcade.

“Because it’s so good!” Max grinned, trying to convince the other girl,but at the unamused look on El’s face, decided against it. “Fine, we can watch something else.” They fell back into comfortable silence as they each meticulously looked through the colour choices. Max ended up with navy, and El with light yellow. They brought the nail supplies out to the couch, laying everything on the floor in front of the TV. 

Just as they were about to pick a movie, El realized something. “We should ask Will if he wants to watch with us. He’s not doing anything tonight and he shouldn’t be sitting alone listening to us have fun without him. ” El and Will had become close when their parents got together, and she had started to notice that he had been talking to Mike less than usual lately.

Max agreed, and they went to knock on Will’s door. “Come in!” The girls opened the door and saw Will at his desk, in the middle of a drawing. He turned to face them, covering the piece of paper with his hands. “What’s up?”

El ignored his extremely suspicious behavior and sat on his bed. “Watch a movie with us.” She said it almost like she wasn’t giving him a choice. He rolled his eyes at her, knowing that he couldn’t get out of this. “You can draw later. Come sit with us.” 

Max stood in the doorway, nervous that she would seem too nosy if she stepped into Will’s room. Her eye caught the stack of old VHS tapes next to his bed. “We can’t decide on a movie. Maybe you can choose for us.” As she walked towards the tapes, Will stood up fast and blocked her way, motioning towards the doorway. “Uh, those are boring. We can find something in the living room.” 

He tried to pull the girls out of his room, but El was too fast and grabbed the stack of movies before he could stop her. She passed them to Max who skimmed through the cases as Will moved between them like a monkey in the middle. “_St. Elmo’s fire_, _Top Gun_, these movies aren’t boring at all. Wait, I’ve never seen this one, what’s it about?” Max held up the _Rocky Horror_ tape, and Will couldn’t hide his blush.

“It’s just some movie that Jonathan showed me. I rented it two weeks ago, I probably owe so much in late fees I should just take it back today.” He tried to reach for the VHS, but Max held it above his head. She craned her neck to read the description on the back, standing on her tippy toes.

“This actually sounds pretty cool, Will. And it’s rated R, so that means we absolutely have to watch it.” Max put the other movies back down and walked out of the room. El followed her, and Will reluctantly trailed behind them, thinking he was walking towards his impending doom.

El was like his sister at this point. They looked out for each other, and if anyone at school even entertained the thought of doing or saying anything mean to Will, they would inexplicably trip over their own feet while walking down the halls. Will knew that El would always be there for him. When he explained to her what Troy meant when he called Will a _fairy_ and pushed him into a locker, El got frustrated trying to understand why someone could be hated because of who they loved.

Max, however, was more of an unknown quantity. Will wasn’t really close with her, and she was loud and opinionated. She always offered to beat up Troy for him, but he could never tell if it was because she was opposed to the homophobia, or if she was just looking for someone to fight.

As they put the popcorn in the microwave, Will resigned to his fate and stopped fighting it. He couldn’t do anything to stop the combined forces of Max and El’s stubbornness so he may as well enjoy the movie with his friends. The three of them sat together on the floor, backs against the couch as the movie began to play. The girls started on their nails, the strong smell of acetone filling the air. Will found his attention torn between the movie and nervous glances towards his friends next to him. He watched as Max looked up from her nails and stared at the red lips occupying the TV screen, then sneaked a look at El, who was fully focused on painting her nails without a single smudge.

As the movie carried on, Will noticed how Max paid less and less attention to her manicure and how her cheeks tinted pink whenever Magenta was onscreen. By the time Touch-A Touch-A Touch Me started, Max seemed to have given up on her nails altogether, instead reaching for the popcorn without taking her eyes off the screen. 

When El finished drying her nails, she looked at Will with a mischievous smile. “Can I practice on your nails?” She held up a bottle of bright purple nail polish. “It reminds me of your cleric costume. Please?” There was no way that he could say no to El, so he held out his hands and sighed. He was preparing for Max’s inevitable joke, because that’s just what Max always did, make fun of the party, _usually_ lovingly. But to his surprise,she didn’t say anything, just smiled at him and turned back to the movie. 

The rest of the movie went by quickly, and the three of them sat in El’s room while Will waited for his nails to dry. He held them out in front of himself, and the girls crowded around him to look. “Pretty.” El said, and Will agreed with a simple, silent nod before standing up. He muttered something about being tired and headed to his own room, leaving El’s door three inches open. 

Will sat on his bed for a while, staring at the royal purple colour and wondering why it felt so right. He knew he would have to take it off before his mom came home tomorrow, but he didn’t want to just yet. As he tried to fall asleep, he heard muffled laughing turn into giggles, and then eventually to snoring. Just as he was about to drift off, his door opened quietly, someone padded over to his bed and sat down. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but Will recognized Max’s long hair and freckles, an uneasy expression on her face as her eyes darted from side to side. 

“Will?” He had never heard Max’s voice so fearful. He sat up and made room for her next to him. “Max, is everything okay? Where’s El?”

Max slipped under the blankets and looked down at her hands. “She’s sleeping. I wanted to ask you something.” She paused playing with Will’s blanket.

“Do you like Mike?” She managed to look at him just as he looked away, embarrassed. “What? Mike’s my best friend.” He tried to laugh it off, but part of him knew they both knew the truth.

Max put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s just, you look at him the way that El used to, before they broke up.” 

Will finally met her eyes. “You can’t tell anyone.” He looked scared. Max knew exactly what was going on in his head. She knew about hiding behind walls, not showing people who she really was, not even her closest friends.

“I won’t. I know how you feel. In California, everyone used to just not care. No one really said it out loud, but no one hid it either. My dad’s best friend, my Uncle Dan, lived with his “friend”, but we all knew what that really meant. Some of my friends were like that too. When my mom met Neil, I wasn’t allowed to hang out with those friends anymore. He thought they would “influence” me somehow. And then he caught me kissing a girl in my room, and he flipped his shit. That’s why we moved here, so he could keep an eye on me. Because nothing happens in Hawkins without everyone knowing. And now I’m in love with my best friend who doesn’t love me back.” Once Max started talking, she couldn’t stop. It was like all these feelings that she’s held tight for over two years came flooding out in one go. She looked at Will, who reached out for her hand and squeezed it. “I guess we have that in common.” Max let out a sad laugh, wiping her cheeks. 

“Is that why you stand up for me so much? Even though we aren’t that close?” Will asked. Max thought about it for a second before replying. “You’re my friend, even if we haven’t known each other as long as the rest of the party. I always stand up for my friends. _Especially_ to homophobic assholes like Troy who deserve to be punched in the face.” She paused for a moment, contemplating what to say. “It’s good to know that I’m not the only queer kid in this dumb town. We don’t have to suffer through this alone.” They sat in silence for a while, before Max left and went back to El’s room.

When he first met Max, Will never thought she would turn out to be the kind of person that he could trust. But now she knew his biggest secret, and he knew hers. He thought back to 1984, halloween night, when Mike told him they would go crazy together. Now, three years later, Max Mayfield was sitting in his room telling him that they would suffer together, and although that sounded kinda sad, having another friend with him made him feel less alone.


	4. March 1987

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit shorter than usual, but the next one will be longer to make up for it. Thanks for all the feedback and support, it really helps :)

Steve pulled into the driveway, windows rolled down, Duran Duran blasting from his speakers. Robin leaned out her window and waved from the passenger’s side, rolling her eyes as Steve sang along to the radio. Will, Max and El had been waiting for them on the front steps of the house, growing more and more agitated the longer they sat there. The three kids excitedly stood up and ran to the car, piling into the back seat. 

“What took you guys so long? We’ve been waiting outside for half an hour!” Max said, rubbing her hands together to warm them up. El was bobbing her head to the music, while Will sat between them,smiling contently at all of his friends.

Steve shifted the gear into reverse and turned around to back out of the driveway. “Well, someone who shall remain nameless kept deciding that her makeup needed to be redone, and then she made me help her choose an outfit, which went on for a freaking hour.” He jabbed a thumb towards Robin, who shrugged. “I need to look good tonight dingus. There’s gonna be a lot of pretty girls at the theatre and I need an edge on the competition.” 

The ride into the city went by fast. Will stared out the window as the others sang along to the radio, looking mindlessly at all the bright lights and neon signs zooming by. 

A few minutes later, Steve pulled into the parking lot beside the theatre. Max was giddy as they got out of the car, throwing an arm around Will’s shoulders. “I’m so excited!” 

Will laughed, in awe of Max. He had never seen her so happy about something without trying to hide it. El walked on Max’s other side, grabbing her hand and swinging it. Steve and Robin lead them inside, telling them to grab seats while they bought food. 

Will pushed the door open to the main theatre, and he heard Max gasp behind him. As they walked down the aisle, he watched Max as she stared at everyone they passed by, her jaw on the floor. El wasn’t phased, giggling as Max pointed out all the people wearing costumes covered in glitter and dark lingerie. They settled in the middle of a row, saving seats next to Will for Robin and Steve, who came a few minutes later baring popcorn and drinks for them all.

After they were all sitting, Robin smirked and showed off a small ripped piece of paper. “The girl at the snack counter gave me her number. I am officially better at picking up girls than Steve Harrington.” The teens laughed and Steve gasped in mock offense. 

This time, the person standing on the stage was a woman, who Will now knew was dressed up as Magenta. She was holding the microphone, trying to get everyone’s attention. “We’re about to get started here in a few minutes, but first, let’s invite some virgins onstage!” 

Max’s eyes widened, and she stared at Will in confusion. Will didn’t know what was going on either, as this hadn’t happened last time he was here. 

“If anyone’s confused, a virgin is someone who hasn’t seen the movie like this, with actors and yelling and props. It doesn’t count if you’ve seen the movie at home. So if you’re a Rocky Horror virgin, raise your hand and we’ll call some of you up!” 

Immediately, Robin raised her hand, and then grabbed Steve’s and raised his too. The Magenta on the stage looked into the audience, and pointed at them. “You two, come up here!” She called a few more people up as Steve argued with Robin, then eventually gave in and went onstage. Will, El, and Max watched in half horror as the two of them stood on the stage, getting red V’s drawn on their forehead with red lipstick, with a handful of other people who had no idea what they were getting into. 

Magenta called a few other cast members onstage, who stood next to each volunteer. “Now, our lovely cast members will tell each of you the virgin secret, on the count of three.” Rocky got closer to Steve, grabbing his head and tilting it to the side, while Columbia walked up to Robin and did the same. “One, two, three!” The crowd cheered as the cast members licked up the side of the volunteers faces. Max, Will and El broke down laughing, and Robin looked overjoyed at the sight of Steve getting his face licked by a man in gold briefs. 

When they got back to the seats, Steve ruffled Will’s hair and started throwing popcorn at Robin. On Will’s other side, Max and El were sharing a bag of M&M’s, trying to throw them up and catch them in their mouths. As the theatre lights dimmed, Will wondered how he got lucky enough to call all these dorks his friends. For the third time, he watched the movie, only looking away from the screen when Robin made a particularly funny comment or when he caught Max staring at the actor playing Magenta in front of the screen. He found himself singing along and yelling with the rest of the audience when he remembered to, losing himself in the movie. Next to Max, El stared at the screen, chewing her bottom lip, clutching the armrests of the seat. Will loved to watch movies with her, because it was like being able to watch things for the first time. She would watch their little TV at home in amazement, wondering how any of it was possible. But right now, she looked more nervous than anything. Her eyes didn’t leave the screen, partly because she was so fascinated with the movie, but Will could tell that she was also scared to look at the girl beside her. He watched as El braved a glance to her left, out of the corner of her eyes. Max was oblivious, too busy watching the stage to notice. Will watched them dance around each other for a few minutes before Max, keeping her eyes in front of her, slowly placed her hand on the armrest, on top of El’s. El threaded their fingers together, and both girls smiled at each other shyly before turning back to the movie. When the movie was over, the lights turned back up and the girls kept their hands clasped together on the walk back to the car.

Robin and Steve were singing loudly and laughing as they got into the car, the younger teens trailing behind them. El sat in the middle of the backseat, and rested her head on Max’s shoulder. Neither of them said anything on the way home, but Will could tell that something changed between them tonight. 

When Steve dropped them off at the house, Will retreated to his room to get ready for bed. On his way to the bathroom, he saw that El’s door was open a crack. The girls were sitting cross-legged on El’s bed, foreheads pressed together. They were giggling about something that Will couldn’t hear, and then Max leaned in and kissed El. Their lips met, and Will felt so happy for them. Max finally got her girl.

When he lay in bed later that night, Will hoped that maybe one day he could get a happy ending like them too.


	5. October 1987

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer to write than I expected, so hopefully it turned out well. I also forgot that ao3 uses html so I went back to fix some stuff that should have been italicized before. Thanks for reading :)

It had been a pretty uneventful morning at school, and Will rushed to the cafeteria to find his friends. His English teacher had kept the class right up until the bell, and he couldn’t wait to get out of there. As he slid into their usual lunch table, he noticed Max and El holding hands under the table. Will had waited for them to tell him about their relationship, after he saw them kiss, and they finally did last month. He was the only one in the party who knew. Lucas, Dustin, and Mike were sitting across from them, eating and arguing about The Avengers. 

“All I’m saying is that Cap is clearly the best original Avenger. He literally punched Hitler!” Lucas said, halfway through chewing his sandwich. Dustin shook his head in anger. “That’s insane Lucas. Obviously it’s Iron Man! Without him they wouldn’t have any tech or the Avengers Mansion!” 

Max scoffed. “You guys are both wrong. The Wasp is the best, because she’s a badass girl who freaking named the team!” El was smiling fondly at her girlfriend, not even paying attention to the conversation. 

Mike put his food down and cleared his throat. “Now that we’re all here now, we need to discuss Halloween. It’s only a few weeks away, and we need to decide on our group costume as soon as possible. I was thinking this year we could go as Star Wars characters.” Dustin shook his head violently. “Haven’t we already done that? We should do The Princess Bride.” 

Lucas threw a french fry at Dustin’s head. “No, idiot, we should be something cool, like The Breakfast Club.” Max tried to get the boy’s attention, to no avail. They kept arguing until french fries flew in all of their faces, courtesy of El’s powers. Max smiled at her and then turned back to the rest of the party. “First of all Lucas, there are six of us, so The Breakfast Club wouldn’t work.” Lucas tried to protest but stopped when he saw the menacing look on El’s face, and Max continued. “And second, Will, El and I aren’t doing a group costume this year. Robin and Steve invited us to this thing, and we can’t go out with you guys for Halloween.” 

Mike’s jaw dropped. “What? We’ve always done Halloween together, you guys can’t just ditch us!” He looked at Will, betrayed.“Are you seriously going along with this Will?” Will looked at him apologetically. He didn’t want to hurt Mike, but he also couldn’t say where they were going on Halloween. He just wasn’t ready for all the questions. “Sorry Mike. They asked us to go months ago. You guys can survive one night without us.” 

Mike, angry and shocked,crossed his arms over his chest. He looked over at Dustin and Lucas for support. “Are you guys gonna stand for this?” The two boys shared a look. “I mean, it would be cool to dress up on our own this year, we wouldn’t have to fight over a costume. No Ghostbusters incident like ‘84, y’know?” Lucas said, and Dustin nodded. Mike huffed and stood up quickly, taking his food and storming out of the cafeteria. 

The table was silent for a minute, all of them confused about Mike’s dramatic exit. The first one to speak up was El, who hadn’t said anything since lunch began. “He just needs some time to adjust. This will be the first time in over ten years that you boys won't be dressing up together.” 

The rest of the period went by quietly. Lucas and Dustin resumed their costume discussions, Max and El reading a book for English class together, heads pressed together with small smiles, but Will just sat there wondering if upsetting Mike was worth it.

…

Halloween had finally arrived, and the Hopper-Byers’ house was once again in chaos. Joyce and Hopper were watching TV in the living room, relaxing, while Max, El, and Will were frantically getting ready in the small bathroom. El was sitting on the counter smiling, while Max was finishing up her dark makeup in the mirror. Her curly red hair was teased and she was dressed up as Magenta, wearing a french maid outfit that she got from the discount costume store. El was wearing an old jean jacket thrown over a Depeche Mode shirt, with soft brown makeup around her eyes. Will sat on the floor and leaned against the bathtub, waiting for Max. He had let Max put eyeliner on him, and he painted his nails red for the occasion. He wasn’t really wearing a costume either, just an old thrifted t-shirt and jeans. When Max was finally done, the three of them went to say goodbye to Joyce and Hopper.

When they walked into the living room, Joyce gasped. “Oh my gosh, you guys look amazing! Let me take some pictures!” As she rushed to get the camera, El went over to the couch and planted a kiss on Hopper’s forehead. “You look great, kid. Have fun tonight.” He said, smiling at his daughter.

For the next ten minutes, Joyce insisted on taking pictures until the Polaroid film ran out. When she was finally satisfied with the number of photos, Joyce sat back on the couch next to Hopper and waited for them all to develop.

A few minutes later, just as the teens were grabbing their shoes and coats, the doorbell rang. “Will! Can you get that? It’s probably trick-or-treaters.” Joyce yelled from her cozy spot under the blankets, with Hopper’s arm around her. Will sighed and grabbed the bowl of candy from the kitchen table. He needed to get rid of the kids at the door quickly so that they could leave already. He’d been waiting for this night for months, and Will had heard that Rocky Horror was crazy on Halloween. Like, even crazier than usual. 

He swung open the door, thrusting out the bowl in front of him. “Happy Hallowe- Mike?” Will was surprised to find his best friend standing at his door, flanked by Dustin and Lucas on either side. Mike was Han Solo, complete with a blaster holstered by his thigh, and Will thought that he looked just as cute as Harrison Ford did. Lucas was dressed as John Bender, Dustin was Inigo Montoya, and they both looked exasperated, like Mike dragged them here. Max and El crowded beside Will at the door, both looking annoyed. 

“I thought we told you guys that we were doing our own thing this year?” Max said, grabbing onto El’s hand for support. She put up a tough front, but Will knew that she was just as scared as him about their other friends finding out about their plans. 

Mike crossed his arms, staring at Will with an angry look, but his eyes were just sad. “I just wanted to drop by and see if you had changed your mind, but I guess I was just kidding myself. Have fun tonight, I guess.” He turned around to leave, but Will grabbed his shoulder.

“Mike, don’t leave. I’m sorry that we dropped this on you guys so suddenly. We should have told you earlier.” Will hated to see Mike so upset, especially because of something Will had done. Mike shook his head and looked away. “No, Will, don’t apologize. You’re right. We’re too old for group costumes anyways.” 

The five teens watched as Mike walked back to his car, slammed the door and grumpily waited in the driver’s seat. They looked at each other awkwardly, and Lucas noticed Max and El’s hands clasped together. Max bit her lip and looked at the ground.  
“Lucas, can we talk before you guys leave? Alone?” Max said, still not meeting his eyes. Lucas nodded, and she led him to the backyard and sat on the steps leading up to the house.

He looked at her, worried. “Is everything okay?” Max smiled, closed-mouthed, and shy. “Yeah. I just,” She took a deep breath and looked back at him. “I know you saw us holding hands. Me and El.” Lucas just looked confused. “Wow, you’re clueless. El and I, we’re….together. Like _together_ together.” 

Lucas’ eyes widened. “_Ohhh_.” Max laughed nervously and watched as he realized what she was saying. “Now you get it.” Before she could say anything else, Lucas wrapped her in a tight hug. “Thanks for telling me Max. I’m really happy for you.” 

Max could feel her eyes starting to water, and she broke free of the hug. “Oh god I’m gonna cry, and this makeup took way too long.” They both laughed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I wanted you to know, but I wasn’t sure how you would react.” Lucas shook his head. “Max, even though we broke up, you’re still my best friend, and I love you. I’ll always be there for you.” Max teared up even more, and fanned her eyes to avoid smudging her mascara. 

Their conversation was interrupted by the noise of a car turning into the driveway, honking three times, signaling that Robin and Steve had arrived. “I guess that’s my cue to leave. Thanks for being such a good guy Lucas.” They hugged one last time before walking back around the house, to find Dustin, Will and El sitting on the front steps talking. Dustin waved at them, and then got into the back of Mike’s car with Lucas.

Mike backed out of the driveway as Robin and Steve got out of the car. They were both wearing long winter coats, but underneath, they were dressed up as Janet and Brad, post-Sweet Transvestite. “What was that about?” Steve said, holding onto his jacket and trying not to shiver in the brisk October weather.

El shrugged and grabbed Max’s hand again, instinctively. “Who knows? Mike isn’t the best communicator, I’ve learned that the hard way.” Steve nodded and quickly changed the subject. “How about we take some pictures before we leave? Robin and I worked hard on our costumes so we have to, otherwise it was for nothing.”

Max laughed as El rushed to get her camera from the house. “Worked hard? Really? You guys are literally just wearing underwear.” Robin held her chest in mock offense. “Maxine, I spent hours watching the movie and finding underwear that matches exactly. Don’t insult me.” Usually, if someone called her by her full name, Max would threaten them, but with Robin, she just rolled her eyes, trying not to laugh.

A few seconds later, El came running out of the house armed with her Polaroid and some extra film. Max looked on fondly as El insisted on pictures, looking like an even smaller, scarier Joyce. Most teenage girls denied being anything like their mothers, but El was a carbon copy of her almost-step-mom, and she loved it. After what felt like hours, Steve was finally satisfied with the number of pictures and the five of them piled into the car. 

It was the third time Will had made this trip into the city, yet again listening to his closest friends bicker over the radio station and sing loudly out the windows. The first time, in the car with Jonathan and Nancy, he was nervous, quietly listening as they talked about university, the soft sound of The Smiths coming from the beat up cassette deck. Last time, he was happy, laughing as Steve and Robin playfully argued in the front seat, while Max and El sang to American Girl on the radio. 

Right now, he should be feeling happy again. He should be staring out the windows, looking at the city, imagining how free he will be once he gets out of Hawkins and goes to college, surrounded by people who are just like him. Instead, he watches Steve and Robin, missing the days that it would have been him and Mike, in the Wheeler’s old car, driving to school, laughing and pointlessly fighting about which music they should play. 

Later, as they sat in the theatre, Will couldn’t focus on the movie. All he could think about was Mike. Mike, who was his best friend, who saved his life in about a million different ways, who never gave up on him. Will felt guilty for abandoning him on Halloween, but even more so for keeping this part of his life a secret from Mike. He knew that he probably wouldn’t get the same happy ending that Max and El got, knew that he probably wouldn’t get to sit with Mike in this theatre, holding hands and smiling at each other, but there’s no way that Will could ignore his feelings about Mike forever.

For the last year, Will had been _thinking_ and _wishing_ about how his life could be. Now he realized that his favourite movie had been telling him exactly what he should do all along.

_Don’t dream it, be it._

He needed to tell Mike how he felt.


	6. November 1987

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, it's been a long time since I posted a chapter, but I've been busy with school, and my exams are next week. Since the last time I've updated, I helped out for the first time at my local rocky horror (toronto) and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I've also made a bunch of moodboards for characters from this story based on how I imagine their aesthetic.  
[Max](https://flat-chest-society.tumblr.com/post/189315070852/were-all-lucky)  
[El](https://flat-chest-society.tumblr.com/post/189333465557/creature-of-the-night)  
[Will](https://flat-chest-society.tumblr.com/post/189920077942/two-lovers-entwined-pass-me-by-and-heaven-knows)  
[Mike](https://flat-chest-society.tumblr.com/post/189911369562/but-whichever-way-i-go-i-come-back-to-the-place)  
[Elmax](https://flat-chest-society.tumblr.com/post/189297443312/summer)  
[Nancy](https://flat-chest-society.tumblr.com/post/189651317902/i-feel-released-bad-times-deceased)  
[Robin](https://flat-chest-society.tumblr.com/post/189594620237/touch-a-touch-a-touch-me)

It had been a week since Halloween, and Will couldn’t stop thinking about Mike. He’d been trying to figure out what to say to Mike, running over every possible outcome in his mind. Even though he’d known the other boy for over a decade, Will still had no idea what Mike’s reaction would be. 

Lunch felt excruciatingly long, especially with Lucas and Dustin awkwardly fighting hard to keep a conversation going, and failing miserably. Mike hadn’t been talking non-stop like usual, and he didn’t even rise to the bait of a Batman vs. Ironman debate. Max and El weren’t even paying attention to the boy’s torturous conversation, instead sharing a plate of fries and leaning over the newest issue of Wonder Woman. Will sat there quietly, trying to get through the hour by finishing some homework, which was something he never thought he would have to resort to. It was only about half way through lunch when Mike stood up, mumbling some excuse to go work in the library. 

Once he left, Dustin and Lucas both groaned in exasperation before staring daggers at Will. “I don’t know what happened with you two on Halloween, but you need to figure it out already.” Lucas said, pushing his food around his lunch tray. Dustin nodded. “I don’t care if you killed someone Will, for shit’s sake! I can’t deal with this anymore. Just talk to him.” To be honest, _Will_ didn’t even know what had happened between them on Halloween. Mike had been upset at the whole party, not just him. Why was he the only one being singled out for this?

El shot him a reassuring look, and patted his shoulder. “I’m sure whatever it is, Mike will understand. He’s your best friend.” Will smiled back at her and sighed. He was going to have to tell Mike about his feelings, and _soon_, because Will didn’t think he could handle any more awkward lunches with prolonged silences and barely any talking.

Will spent the whole afternoon contemplating the pros and cons of coming out to Mike, getting so caught up in every negative possibility until he found himself face-down on his textbook in Chemistry class. When he looked up, he saw Mike from across the room, trying resolutely to not look anywhere but down at his notebook. It wasn’t going to be easy, especially if Mike kept on ignoring him. It felt different than when Mike brushed him off for El, because back then he was just a dumb kid who was enamored by a pretty girl. Now, Mike wasn’t talking to him on _purpose_. 

When the bell rang at the end of the day, Will started to gather his things into his backpack. He saw Mike rush to leave out of the corner of his eye, and saw that he had left one of his textbooks on the desk. Will grabbed it and shoved it into his already stuffed backpack before making his way to his locker. Just as he opened it, a familiar figure with his ever-present ball cap appeared next to him. Dustin leaned against the nearby lockers, arms crossed. “Will Byers, you are hereby invited to a night of video games and movies at Lucas’ house tonight. And by invited I mean if you don’t say yes, I will forcibly relocate you to his car.” Dustin kept a straight face the whole time, because he was nothing if not dramatic.

Will chuckled, and closed his locker. “I’m gonna just say yes because I’m not in the mood to be moved with force today.” Dustin put his arm around Will’s shoulders, steering him towards the school parking lot. “Well that’s good, because I’m not sure I could actually carry you the whole way outside without pulling every one of my muscles.” Dustin pushed open the door, and outside waiting for them was the rest of the party. 

Lucas was sitting on the hood of his car, playing rock-paper-scissors with Max, who kept insisting that “knife” was a valid fourth move. Mike and El were around near the trunk, talking quietly. El looked pissed off, glaring at Mike, who looked rightfully terrified by the small girl. When she noticed the boys walking towards the car, El schooled her expression into a sweet smile, trying to hide how she was staring daggers at Mike just a moment ago. Will raised his eyebrows at her, silently communicating his confusion, but El just kept on her poker face. 

Lucas hopped off of the hood, purposefully ignoring whatever argument had just been happening behind his car, and clicked his keys. Dustin started sprinting towards the passenger seat, yelling “shotgun!” as he ran by. 

That left Will, Mike, Max, and El to squish into the backseat. The girls slid to the far end, El sitting on Max’s lap and sharing a seatbelt. Will sat in the middle, sandwiched between them and Mike. He was lucky Lucas lived so close to school, because he could already sense the tension between him and Mike. 

As the engine started up, Will thought about how El and Mike had been after they broke up for the second time, almost two years ago. This was around when Joyce and Hopper had started officially dating, which meant that El and Will spent a _lot_ of time hanging out in front of the television together while their parents were out on date nights. El had been becoming her own person, and as much as she loved Mike, she needed to experience life on her own for a while, without worrying about romance. Besides, she had only been out of Hawkins Lab for less than a week when they first kissed. She barely had even known what it meant. 

The whole party expected Mike to be a wreck, but to their unanimous surprise, he wasn’t. Sure, he was sad, but he understood why El needed a break. He still loved her, but he didn’t want to keep her from living. _If you love them, let them go_, and all that. Now, their relationship seemed pretty similar to when they were dating, minus all of the PDA. And of course, more freaky communicating-without-speaking. El had that weird ability with all of her friends, and even some of her enemies too. She could scare the shit out of Troy with one look, then turn around and silently tell Will what they were having for dinner without ever opening her mouth. Will guessed that all those years of quiet brooding and imagining ways to hurt creepy scientists gave her the time to hone that skill.

Nowadays, Mike was almost more protective of her than Hopper was. 

While Will was busy staring into space and contemplating, the others (sans Mike who was being standoffish as was now usual) were singing along to _St. Elmo’s Fire_ on the radio causing Will to tune back in just enough to chuckle. Their group of friends was basically plucked from a cliche teen movie, just with added monsters and government conspiracies. By the time Lucas pulled into his driveway, Max and Dustin were performing a duet to _Don’t You (Forget About Me)_, overacting to the extreme and making everyone laugh as they stumbled out of the car.

Before Mike could follow the others into the house, Will remembered the forgotten textbook and grabbed his arm. “Wait! You left this on your desk in Chem. Thought you might need it.” He quickly let go of Mike’s arm, and pulled out the worn in science textbook. Mike grabbed it and looked at Will, actually _looked_ at him for the first time in a while. At least the first time Will had noticed. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Dustin yelling at them through the door. “Are you guys coming inside or what? The door is letting in the cold air.” 

They both nodded, and Mike shot off a quick thanks to Will before rushing inside. Before the interruption, Will thought they might actually be getting somewhere. But leave it to the guy practically _begging_ them to make up to throw them back to square one. 

Inside Lucas’ house, the party was all gathered in front of the TV. Lucas and Dustin were sitting on the floor, plugging in the NES, waiting for it to start up. Max and El were relaxing on one side of the big sectional, sharing a can of Cherry Coke with a pink swirly straw, and Mike was all the way on the other side, leaving room once again for Will to sit in between them, which was no doubt deliberate on the girls’ part. 

Lucas had put the _Super Mario Bros._ cartridge in even though he’d already beaten it, because it was the only multiplayer game he owned. He and Dustin played until they ran out of lives in level 3. Lucas had been taking it slow, waiting to jump from platform to platform, while Dustin was rushing through without thinking. Eventually, Dustin ran right across a skinny platform and right off the other side. As Luigi died on screen, a koopa troopa ran into Mario and Lucas groaned. “Why can’t we just work together and play like normal people?” Dustin laughed mischievously. “Because it’s way more fun trying to beat you to the flag.” 

While the boys got up to sit on the couch, Max jumped off of it and pulled El with her to the console. “Our turn! Who do you want to play El?” Dustin threw up his hands and looked at Max incredulously. “What? I have played video games with you for three years, and not once have you let me play who I wanted. You always wait for me to choose and then pick them first to spite me!” Max’s only response was to flip him off, as El chose player 2.

_So Dustin had definitely noticed that Max had been acting different_, Will thought. She was still the same stubborn, tough, sailor-mouthed skater girl, but her soft spot for El was more obvious than ever. El still didn’t have a lot of video game experience. The party had tried, and failed, many times to get her to like them, but she still prefers board games and Dungeons and Dragons. She loved the intricate and emotional stories that Mike came up with. 

Max, however, had been practically raised on a diet of rusty quarters and button mashing. The girls only got to level 2, because Max kept stopping to help El with the controls and accidentally let a goomba get Mario. Nevertheless, they were both smiling when they sat back on the couch.

Will turned to face Mike, an awkward smile plastered on his face. “Guess we’re up.” The two boys sat cross-legged on the floor, knees almost touching. Mike chose Mario without thinking, because he knew that Will liked Luigi more. They were silent while they played, focusing intently on the game in front of them. There was cheering coming from behind them as they beat the first few levels, quickly catching up to where Dustin and Lucas had reached. They made it all the way past the first castle before they finally lost. Will grinned and turned to high five Mike, who returned it and gave a small smile. Their little shared moment was cut short by Max, who was clearing her throat. 

“So, um, while we’re all here, El and I kinda wanted to say something.” They were positioned on the couch, holding hands, and Will could tell that Max was shaking. El took a deep breath before continuing. “We have something to tell you all. Well, actually some of you know already, but we wanted to _officially_ tell you guys.” _Oh shit, they were doing this right now?_

Will started to feel nervous himself, because if this went badly, he had absolutely no chance with Mike. “For the past while, El and I have been keeping something from you guys, but we know that you are our best friends, and we love you, so we thought it was time to tell you. El and I are dating. Like romantically.” At this point, the girls were hopefully looking at Dustin and Mike, the only two who didn’t know yet. After a tense moment, Dustin grinned and stood up. “I _knew_ you were acting weird Max! You’re never that nice to any of us!” He pulled her off the couch and hugged her, picking her up and spinning her around. “That’s awesome!” 

Mike, however, just looked blank. “How long have you been together?” Once Max was finally free from Dustin’s death grip, she laughed and sat back down. “Since March. Will knew, obviously, because he lives with El, but their parents don’t know yet.” Lucas looked surprised. “I thought you guys just started dating before Halloween? March is almost nine months!”

El looked guilty, but smiled anyways. “We didn’t know if you guys would be okay with us, so we waited a really long time to tell you.” Lucas ruffled her hair and wrapped her in a hug. “I’m not mad or anything, I just feel bad that you guys had to hide for that long!”

Mike stood up awkwardly. “Um, congratulations, I guess. I forgot I had homework to do, I’m just gonna get going.” He turned to grab his stuff, and the rest of the party stared in confusion. The girls shrugged it off and continued celebrating and telling the story of how they started dating. While Dustin and Lucas were fixating on all the minute details of the story, Will slipped out to the front foyer, where Mike was opening the door, and followed him outside. 

“Do you have a problem with El and Max?” Will shut the door behind him, and ran down the front steps. Mike stopped in his tracks. “Because if you do, then you should get over it. It’s not their choice to like girls, and they didn’t do anything wrong, and-” Before Will could keep on rambling, Mike cut him off. “I don’t have a problem with them.” 

Will rolled his eyes. “Well it sure seems like you do! How else do you explain why you’ve been acting so weird since Halloween?” Will stepped closer to Mike, trying to get a read on what he was thinking. “I’m just sick of you ignoring me and pretending nothing’s wrong!” 

Mike sighed, frustrated, and glared at Will. “I’m the one ignoring _you_? You want to know what’s wrong? How about my best friend, who I’ve known nearly my whole life, bails on the one night that he _knows_ means the most to me. We’ve spent Halloween together for over a decade, Will. I know it sounds stupid, it was only Halloween, not my fucking wedding. But it means a lot to me. It’s the only day that I can be a nerd and not worry about those assholes at school. So yeah, I am acting weird, because I’m struggling to cope with the fact that we’re all growing up, and everything that I’m used to is changing. You guys don’t want to do kid stuff anymore, I _get_ it. But whatever you’re doing that you think you can’t tell me, you’re wrong. Even if it’s the dumbest possible thing, I wouldn’t give a shit, because you’re my best friend.” Mike didn’t realize that he had started to yell, and he was out of breath. “I’m not upset that we didn’t spend Halloween together. I’m upset that you don’t trust me enough to tell me _why_.” 

He had barely finished talking when he started to walk away, leaving Will standing in the driveway, shocked. He felt even worse than he had the past week, now that he knew what Mike was really thinking. Will stood there, frozen in place, watching the direction that Mike had gone. 

“What happened?” Will barely noticed as El appeared beside him and put her arms around him. He let out a breath he had been holding in, and sank into the hug. “I guess I finally know why Mike’s been acting so weird.” El gave him a deadpan look at his non-answer, and he knew he would be thoroughly interrogated when they got home later. But right now, he was just going to pretend like he was fine, and watch some dumb movies with his friends.


End file.
